Top 10 Coolest Things About Aloy (Forbidden West)

Aloy returns in ‘Horizon Forbidden West’ with a deeper toolkit that opens up traversal, combat, and stealth in ways that are easy to learn and fun to master. Her gear expands to handle vertical cliffs, wide valleys, and underwater ruins, while new skills let her control the pace of every encounter. Elemental damage matters more this time, so her weapons and outfits support focused builds for different machines. Here are the standout abilities and systems that define how she fights, explores, and survives across the Forbidden West.

Shieldwing Glider

The Shieldwing lets Aloy descend safely from cliffs, Tallnecks, and arena platforms without taking fall damage. It deploys instantly after a jump and can be steered to reach ledges or soft landings behind cover. The glide pairs well with climbing and the Pullcaster to chain upward and downward movement. Players can also use it to set up silent takedowns or drop into hidden entrances on enemy camps.

Pullcaster Grapple

The Pullcaster attaches to blue grapple points to propel Aloy upward and forward, speeding up vertical traversal. It can rip open vent panels and drag movable crates to reveal pathways and puzzle solutions. The tool cancels into a Shieldwing glide to cover long gaps in one smooth route. In combat it creates quick elevation changes that break enemy line of sight and set up ranged shots.

Diving Mask And Underwater Exploration

The Diving Mask gives Aloy unlimited breath underwater, turning lakes and coastal ruins into full exploration spaces. Strong currents and plant cover create stealth routes beneath machines that patrol shorelines. Sunken supply caches and green-glint resources expand crafting options found on land. Several relic ruins and quest objectives require underwater switches and hidden tunnels only accessible with the mask.

Sunwing Flight

After unlocking the Sunwing override, Aloy can mount and fly across the map to reach mountaintops and remote quest sites. Aerial travel reveals vantage points and survey drones that are difficult to access on foot. Flight also enables midair dismounts followed by Shieldwing landings near objectives. The Sunwing’s speed shortens backtracking and makes resource farming runs more efficient.

Resonator Blast Melee

Aloy’s spear attacks build up energy on enemies which can be discharged with a charged arrow for heavy burst damage. This system rewards alternating between close and ranged combat to finish targets quickly. Visual cues on the enemy’s body show where the stored energy sits so shots can be aimed precisely. It works well on human enemies and agile machines that are hard to pin down with traps.

Valor Surges

Valor Surges are powerful abilities tied to specific skill trees and fueled by combat actions. Options include ranged boosts, defensive overshields, and melee enhancements for short windows of advantage. Each Surge can be upgraded across multiple levels to increase effect duration and potency. The system encourages tailoring Aloy’s loadout to particular machines or mission types.

Expanded Skill Trees And Builds

Forbidden West splits progression into multiple trees that cover melee, stealth, traps, and ranged combat. Skills unlock passives and techniques for bows, blastsling, and spike throwers along with survivability boosts. Aloy gains enough points to specialize while still picking utility from other branches. The result is flexible builds that support stealthy infiltrations, high damage ranged play, or close quarters control.

Workbench Crafting And Upgrades

Workbenches allow Aloy to upgrade weapons and outfits to increase damage, draw speed, and resistances. Unlocking upgrade tiers often adds new ammo types like adhesive or advanced elemental shots. Coils and weaves socket into gear to boost critical chance, elemental buildup, or stamina regeneration. The system ties exploration to power growth since machine parts and rare minerals are needed for higher tiers.

Weapon Variety And Elemental Ammo

Aloy’s arsenal spans hunter bows, sharpshot bows, warrior bows, blastsling, ropecaster, shredder gauntlet, and spike throwers. Each weapon uses distinct ammo that targets machine weaknesses such as shock, purgewater, or acid. Detachable components can be shot off to disable attacks or harvest rare materials. Swapping between weapons during fights lets her trigger elemental states and then capitalize with high damage follow ups.

Machine Overrides And Mount Options

By completing Cauldrons and side objectives, Aloy expands the list of machines she can override in the wild. Overrides provide temporary allies in combat that draw aggro and create damage windows. Mountable machines like Chargers and Clawstriders speed up travel and allow mounted melee strikes. Overrides can also open paths during exploration by clearing hostile patrols from narrow routes.

Share the one ability that changed how you play Aloy in the comments.